€90m development is shape of things to come for Cork city

The €90m office development proposed this week for Cork City’s quays show a mark of confidence in the second city’s employment prospects — much of it foreign direct investment-sourced jobs — as is evident in recent jobs announcements and arrivals such as Tyco.

Behind the plan for a significant office/technology complex of 360,000sq ft in flour blocks on Albert Quay are O’Callaghan Properties: It has assembled this site over several years, previously proposing a 6,000 seat, 100,000sq ft event centre here on 1.75 acres.

Now, this bigger site has loftier accommodation ambitions, in five and six floors of offices, above 300 basement parking spaces in an evolving and shifting central business district.